Shen Hui discovered that ever since he began practicing the Wood Nurturing Technique, his short hair had been growing at a startling rate.
At first, he paid it no mind, assuming it was just an ordinary change brought on by cultivation.
Then one day, he looked at himself in a basin of clear water and realized he could already tie his hair into a little wolf tail.
He pinched the tuft of hair and rolled its ends between his fingers, unable to help laughing.
Could the Wood Nurturing Technique really be a hair-growth technique?
But it wasn't just his hair. He also felt much lighter and fitter than before.
Not the kind of strength that came with a pointed head and a body packed with muscle, but the easy lightness of walking without tiring or climbing mountains without getting winded.
In the past, he would have needed two or three rests to make a round trip up and down the mountain. Now he could finish it all in one go without even breathing hard.
That was probably the effect of Wood Qi "nourishing the spark of life."
These days, he had enjoyed plenty of peace and quiet.
Jinghui had stopped pestering him, while Third Senior Brother was busy putting together his ever-thickening collection, bent over his desk all day, writing without pause.
Shen Hui was glad to have the freedom. He practiced spells every day, and his time was well spent.
Still, he knew where he stood.
At most, two or three months remained before he and his master would descend the mountain. And since traveling down the mountain was a form of training, there was bound to be a fight or two.
With his current cultivation, breaking through to the next realm within a few months was pure wishful thinking.
But if he could learn all of the Lesser Five Elements Art before they left, he would at least have a few more ways to deal with trouble.
He had already made some progress in the Fire Element Art, and had begun learning the Wood Element Art. That left the Metal, Water, and Earth arts, and he needed to hurry.
That afternoon, he sat cross-legged on his bed and summoned the Parchment Interface.
[Dao Xing]: 391
"I should still try it on my own first."
He began cultivating according to the Silk Scroll, closing his eyes and looking inward as he tried to sense that wisp of metal energy.
Metal was hard and keen-edged, the element of slaughter.
He imagined a blade being drawn from its scabbard, imagined an aura of sharpness laid bare...
Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, having gained nothing.
"Forget it. I'll just stick to Deep Blue Point Allocation."
At a mere thought, the numbers on the interface jumped.
[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn the Lesser Five Elements Art: Control Water Chapter (Novice)?]
[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn the Lesser Five Elements Art: Sharp Gold Chapter (Novice)?]
[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn the Lesser Five Elements Art: Transform Earth Chapter (Novice)?]
Three hundred points vanished in an instant, turning into three streams of clear energy that flowed into his body.
First came water.
A cool breath rose from his kidneys, like a babbling brook, like a gentle spring rain. Wherever it flowed, the heat within him faded.
Then came metal.
A sharp breath pierced in from between his brows, like a sword drawn from its scabbard, like metal striking stone. His whole body tensed, his back straightening unconsciously. As his eyes opened and closed, a glint of sharpness seemed to pass through them.
Last came earth.
A heavy breath surged up from the soles of his feet, as steady as mountains, as boundless as the earth. His whole body sank, as though roots had grown from him into the bed beneath, anchoring him with extraordinary steadiness.
The three streams of energy circulated through his body for a while, then gradually settled.
Shen Hui opened his eyes and looked down at the interface.
[Control Water Chapter (Novice)]
[Notes]: This art should be practiced near bodies of water, in keeping with water's soft and yielding nature.
[Effects]:
Novice: Gather energy into water, freeze water into ice, walk upon waves, and stand upon rippling waters.
Minor Accomplishment: Seal water veins, manipulate water into threads, whip up wind and waves, and unleash a ceaseless flood.
Major Accomplishment: Gain Water Essence Insight, summon clouds and rain, divide rivers and dam their flow, and bring snow in the sixth month.
[Sharp Gold Chapter (Novice)]
[Notes]: This art should be practiced near weapons, in keeping with metal's sharp and keen nature.
[Effects]:
Novice: Exhale sword energy and pierce metal and stone.
Minor Accomplishment: Become impervious to blades and spears, and snap weapons with bare hands.
Major Accomplishment: Point stone into gold, Point Earth to Steel, become indestructible, and break through anything.
[Transform Earth Chapter (Novice)]
[Notes]: This art should be practiced in the mountains and wilderness, in keeping with earth's solid and weighty nature.
[Effects]:
Novice: Raise earth into walls, make the ground ripple like water, transform earth into stone, and stone into earth.
Minor Accomplishment: Point Stone to Soldier Technique, Sitting Mountain as God, pass through walls and burrow underground, and gain boundless strength.
Major Accomplishment: Raise mountains and sink valleys, split the earth into abysses.
Shen Hui read through the entries, his eyes growing wider with each line.
At the novice level, he could already exhale sword energy, walk upon waves, and raise walls from the earth. What would happen if he mastered all of these arts?
His master had said that the Lesser Five Elements Art wielded tremendous power at its higher levels, making it formidable in a magical duel. It turned out there wasn't a single word of exaggeration.
He stood and walked to the window, then pushed it open.
The snow in the courtyard had melted away, leaving the ground wet and glistening with a faint breath of spring.
The buds on the old locust tree's branches were a little bigger than they had been a few days ago. They were a pleasant sight.
His thoughts stirred, and his right hand formed a spell seal.
A breath of energy rose in his throat. He opened his mouth and blew.
A stream of white air shot out as fast as an arrow. With a sharp hiss, it pierced through the wooden stump in the courtyard.
A finger-wide hole now ran through the stump, its edges smooth as if cut with a blade.
He formed a Control Water seal and beckoned toward the puddle in the corner of the courtyard.
The puddle seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand. It rose slowly into the air, gathered into a fist-sized ball of water, and spun there in midair.
Sunlight shone through it, refracting into flecks of light that cast wavering ripples on the wall.
At another thought, the water ball instantly froze into a ball of ice. It fell to the ground with a smack and rolled several times, carving a faint groove through the muddy earth.
He formed a Transform Earth seal, then pointed at the bluestone on the ground.
The bluestone seemed to melt, its edges drooping and flowing down into a puddle of mud.
He pointed again, and the mud slowly hardened, turning back into bluestone—though its shape was crooked and misshapen.
Shen Hui lowered his hand and stood by the window, breathing out a long sigh.
He had all five elements at his command.
Though four of the arts were still only at the novice level, there were probably few below Foundation Establishment who could beat him.
In the days that followed, Shen Hui devoted himself to his training.
In the mornings, he meditated and cultivated Qi in the hot spring. In the afternoons, he practiced the new spells he had learned.
His Fire Element Art had reached Minor Accomplishment, and he could wield it with ease.
But the other newly learned arts would take hard work before he could use them smoothly.
It was easy to gather energy into water with the Control Water Art, but he could never quite manage to freeze it into a sharp point of ice.
He stood in the courtyard, repeatedly trying to shape the puddles left by the melting snow.
At first, the icicles he formed were crooked and uneven. Some shattered into ice chips with a snap before they could even take shape.
He didn't rush. He formed them, shattered them, formed them again, and practiced over and over for more than ten days.
Gradually, the icicles grew straighter and sharper.
At last, with a mere thought, the puddles rose into the air and formed seven or eight foot-long icicles, all suspended in front of him. Their surfaces gleamed with a chilling light in the sun.
He waved his hand. The icicles shot out and buried themselves three inches into the courtyard wall.
Next came the Sharp Gold Art.
With Sharp Gold Art, he could exhale sword energy and pierce a wooden stump with ease.
This spell took a tremendous toll on his spirit. After exhaling one sword, he had to wait a few breaths before he could unleash another.
If he forced it, the second sword would be weak and limp.
There was no way around that unless he improved his cultivation.
So he tried another approach.
If he couldn't fire them in quick succession, then he wouldn't fire them at all.
He gathered the sharp energy without releasing it, letting it cling to the edge of his palm. He raised his hand and lightly sliced at a small tree on the mountainside.
With a crack, a thumb-thick branch broke off. Its cut was as smooth as if it had been sliced with a blade.
He stared for a moment, then grinned.
This method was good.
No need to exhale the energy or build up strength. He could use it with a casual flick of his hand.
It wasn't as fierce as Sword Qi, but it was more subtle and enduring.
In close combat, he could raise his hand and slice, severing an opponent's weapon or striking a vital point.
He tried channeling the energy to his fingertips. His fingers became like steel claws; with a light grab, he left five deep gouges in the bluestone.
His progress with the Transform Earth Art was much the same.
He could raise an earthen wall with a mere thought, but it was flimsy and collapsed in the wind.
He tried compacting the wall, then tried transforming its surface into a layer of stone.
After a few attempts, it became much sturdier. It still wasn't truly strong, but it would be enough to hold off a few ordinary wild beasts.
He also considered combining the Earth Art with the Wind-Borne Art.
First, he formed a Transform Earth seal and raised a cloud of dust. Then he formed a Wind-Borne seal and stirred the air with his sleeves.
The wind swept up the dust and sent it billowing forward, covering the sky and making it easy to blind anyone in its path.
Standing there with his eyes closed, he thought that if he used this move in a magical duel, he could seize the initiative while his opponent rubbed their eyes.
These new techniques weren't in the books, and his master hadn't taught them to him. Some worked well, some didn't. Some looked flashy but were useless in practice; others seemed unremarkable, yet could take an opponent by surprise.
With this steady, unflagging practice, after a month, Shen Hui had become far more proficient in all three arts. He could use them almost as naturally as reaching for something.
But Shen Hui knew the truth.
It took a thousand points to raise each of these novice arts to Minor Accomplishment.
His Dao Xing was now completely depleted. At the ten points he earned each day through meditation, it would take almost a year to gather three thousand.
He sighed.
He would have to wait until after Foundation Establishment.
His daily point limit would surely be higher then, making it faster to save them up.
But...
He suddenly remembered the poisonous mushrooms he had eaten last time.
By a stroke of luck, they had caused his Fire Element Art to leap straight to Minor Accomplishment. If he ate them again, might the other arts benefit as well?
The thought turned over in his mind once, then he quickly pushed it aside.
Once was enough.
He didn't want to experience that half-dead feeling a second time.